Discovery of a Copper Plate::

On 13th March 1987, the residents of a Jagjivanpur
stumbled upon a copper plate. Jagjivanpur is a non-descriptive
village 36 Km east of Malda town on the Bangladesh (Rajshahi) border.
The plate measuring 52.5 cm X 37.5 cm X 0.75 cm and weighing 11.8 kg
contains inscription on both sides (40 lines on the front and 30
lines on the back) in Siddhamartika script. It has a royal seal
attached to the top containing the dharmachakra flanked by two
deers and inscription in Sanskrit “Srimahendrapaldevah.”.

Portion of the vihar with the base of a stupa.

This copper plate is an important historical document as for the
first time it referred to the name of Mahendrapala
(Circa AD845 – 860) as a son of Devapala (Circa AD840 – 845) and
included him in the Pala genealogy, which was hitherto unknown.

A well at the vihar complex.

The plate, which was actually a land grant charter, was issued by the
Pala king Mahandra Pala for the dedication of the land near
Nanda – Dirghi – Ordang on the 2nd day of Vaisakh of his army
chief Vajradeva, for the erection of a Buddhist Monastery and
other ritualistic activities for the attainment of religious
merit of his parents and all people on earth..

Survey and Excavation:

The chance discovery of the plate lead to the extensive
survey of the area around Jagjivanpur. Five mounds (locally
called Bhita or Danga) were identified
• Tula Bhita or Salai Danga (78.58 ´ 78.33 m)
• Akhari Danga (72.29 ´ 28.28 m)
• Nim Danga (40.86 ´ 28.28 m)
• Mai Bhita (110.01 ´ 78.58 m)
• Laksmi Dhipi
Apart from these there were several other minor mounds.

A portion of the inner sanctum.

The square structure had four circular structures at the four
corners, two of which exists to this day. Beautiful terracotta
panels adorned the four walls. The panels have been removed to
the State Archaeological Museum in Behala, Calcutta. The
structure has a courtyard in the middle, surrounded on all
sides by two lines of square identical cells, which were
probably used as students’ residence or classrooms.

The sanctum sanctorum lies on the Western side behind the cells.
The Northern side contains a bathroom with elaborate drainage system.
The entrance, well, balcony and several flights of stairs add a
special dimension to the ancient structure.

A cell probably used for students residence.

Travel Trips:

Getting there:

It is best to take the Gour Express, which reaches the Malda
town at the crack of dawn. There is no regular service for
Jagjivanpur from there, so it is best to rent a car.

Places to eat:

There are no eateries in Jagjivanpur, so
it is best to eat in Malda.

Other Excursion:

The trip can be combined with trips to
the more famous historical sites of Gour & Paundooah.

Photographic Restriction:

A blue board at the site
declares it as a protected monument. Another crude
unauthorized board says the entry and photography is
prohibited. So to avoid unwanted
problem it is best to obtain permission from the State
Archeological Museum.

Jagjivanpur Gallery, at the State Archeological Museum: :

The State Archeological Museum in Behala, South Calcutta has an
entire gallery dedicated to the Nandadirghi Vihar of Jagjivanpur. It includes
• The scale model of the unearthed vihar
• Replica of the copper plate (the original is at the vault of the Malda Museum)
• Bronze statue of Buddha in earth touching gesture (bhumisparsha mudra)
• A bronze statue of Marich (175cm high)
• Several terracotta items of everyday use such as beads,
lamp, weights, dabber, playing beads, votive stupa, etc.
• A large amount of potteries (glazed, red, decorated) are also on display.
But the star attraction is the terracotta frieze
from this Buddhist vihar running from one wall to the other
with plaques depicting wild animals, lions, zodiac signs,
serpents, rutting rams, whirling dancers in skirts and Shiva.

Courtyard of the vihar.

Reference:

• Showcase of Bengal Past by Soumitra Das (The Telegraph, Kolkata 8th July 2007)
Link
• Next weekend you can be at Nandadirgi Vihar by
Rangan Datta (The Telegraph, Kolkata 8th July 2007)
Link
• www.banglapedia.com
Link

Our train arrived 15 minutes late. Without wasting time we
jumped in our rented car (it was rented from Calcutta) and
headed out for Jagjivanpur. After about one and half hour of
bumpy ride (which included a short breakfast stop) we reached
the site.

The site, a protected monument under ASI, was enclosed by
barbed wire. The gate was locked and a crude unauthorised
board in Bengali said photography and entry prohibited.
There was no one around, so Saurab and I sneaked inside
through a gap in the barbed wire. As soon as we started
taking our shots we found a crowd running towards us. The
accused as of in filtering into private territory, even a
lady claimed that her husband discovered the site and it
was their property.

Long discussion lead to no solution and the caretaker was
away to Malda Town and no one knew about his time of return.
I tried to contact the keeper of State Archeological Museum
but he was not at home, finally a young guy in the crowd
gave us the phone number of ASI representative in Malda
Town. We got him over the phone, and he spoke to one of
the locals and finally after almost half an hour permission
was granted.

At last we went on with our work. The entire Tulabhita
mound have been excavated, there is no mound-like structure
at all. (It is quite different from Khana–Mihirer Dhipi or
Rajbaridanga Dhipi, where only a portion of the mound have
been excavated) The next hour was spent exploring the central
courtyard, inner sanctum, balconies, cells, wells, balconies,
flights of stairs, intricate brick stucco works and the
elaborate drainage system. Bidding farewell to the site we
went for the other four mounds. Strangely the locals were
totally unaware of their existence and it seemed that they
never heard the names of the mound also. We also didn’t spot
any towering mound in the almost flat landscape. After a
long search we did find a small mound, with traces of long
forgotten excavation. Only a small portion of a brick wall
was all that can be seen inside the trench. Finally we gave
up our search and headed for Malda Town.